“And I’m sorry about that,” Rylee said, taking a seat. “I had a lot to deal with.”
“Care to tell me about it?”
“After lots of cocktails.”
Several hours later, after they’d shared a bottle of wine, a seafood dinner of crab claws and a gigantic piece of chocolate cake to celebrate Camryn’s twenty-eighth birthday, they took a cab over to a new nightclub that was the latest hotspot for dancing and singles in Tucson.
Rylee tipped the host a hundred dollars, and they were seated in the VIP section away from the crowd, but not too far away to hear the music.
“This is awesome, Rylee. Thanks,” Camryn said when they sat down on a plush silver sofa.
“It’s your birthday,” Rylee said. “We have to live it up!”
When the waitress came over, Rylee ordered them two Pomegranate martinis.
“Easy, Rylee,” Camryn warned. “We did just kill a bottle of wine earlier.”
“And your point?” Rylee raised a brow. “You said you wanted to know what happened after you left the Derby. Well, that requires a lot of liquid courage.”
Camryn eyed her warily. “Amar Bishop must have really done a number on you after I left.”
Rylee shrugged. “No worse than he did to Jeremy.”
“Speaking of …”
Rylee followed Camryn’s gaze and saw Jeremy approaching them. He paused for several beats, and Rylee thought he was about to turn on his heel, but he must have thought better of it because he continued toward them.
“Ladies.” Jeremy nodded when he made it to the VIP area.
Rylee’s throat suddenly became parched, and she sorely wished that that martini had arrived. “Jeremy, how are you?” She offered a small smile.
“Well. And you?” he asked, but before she could reply, he looked around then returned his gaze back to her. “Are you alone?”
His question was like a dagger to the heart because Rylee knew what Jeremy was implying. Although she was with Camryn, Amar was not present. “We’re here celebrating Cam’s birthday.” Rylee reached across the couch and wrapped one arm around Camryn’s shoulder. “Would you like to join us?”
“No, thanks,” Jeremy said. “I’m not alone.” He inclined his head toward a statuesque woman who was standing several feet behind him. “I just came over to say hello.” He came forward and offered Cam a hug. “Happy birthday. Enjoy your evening.”
Seconds later, he was gone, leaving a thick cloud of tension. “Wow! Talk about the hidden hostility,” Camryn said. “If you looked up the word in the dictionary, you would see Jeremy’s face.”
“Can you blame him?” Rylee asked as she stared at his retreating figure. “I broke his heart.”
“Looks like he’s recovering just fine, but I wish the same could be said about you.”
“What do you mean?” Rylee asked. At that moment, the waitress came back with their drinks and set them on the table. “Thank you,” they said in unison. The waitress nodded and walked away.
“You know what I mean, Rylee. You’ve been back for over a week, and I’ve barely seen you. You haven’t called or barely returned my texts.”
“Listen, Cam, I’m sorry.”
“Enough of the ‘I’m sorries,’ okay? I’m your best friend. And if you can’t tell me, who can you tell?”
“My brother.” Rylee offered a dry laugh.
“You talked to Noah about Amar?”
Just hearing Amar’s name brought tension to her belly, but Rylee pushed it down. “No. I meant Caleb. And in his profound wisdom, he told me that I had to chalk up the moment to taking a risk and move on, but that’s easier said than done.”
“Why don’t you take it from the top? What happened after we left?”
Rylee reached for her martini and took a generous sip. It was sweet yet potent, and she could feel the liquor spreading through her veins along with the wine she’d consumed earlier. “We had a great time,” Rylee answered. “Amar pulled out all the stops to romance me, from a couture gown for the Julep Ball to a private cabin in the woods.”
“I’m intrigued,” Camryn said, grabbing her martini glass. “Do continue.”
“He went all out. There was a path of rose petals to the cabin, chilled champagne and a roaring fireplace. I don’t need to tell you what happened. I’m sure your imagination can take it from there. The only difference was I felt something. Amar brought out a passion in me that I didn’t know existed, and girl … I had my first orgasm being with him.”
“That’s big.” Camryn eyes grew large, and she took another drink of her martini. “As I recall, you’d never had one … the typical way.”
Rylee nodded. “No. And I did over and over with him. It was thrilling and exciting, and the two nights we were together were the most amazing passionate nights of my life, but then it was over.”
“What happened?”
“I woke up the night after Dreamer won the Derby and Amar was gone. No note or phone call. I found Sharif in the living room, and he informed me Amar had to leave on an urgent family matter.” Rylee sipped her martini. “None of it makes any sense, Camryn. Amar shared with me he wasn’t close with his family, yet I’m expected to believe he had to leave on an urgent family matter?”
“Does sound a little shady, but has he called since then?”
“Yes, but why should I take his calls?”
“Because …” Camryn’s voice grew loud thanks to the music that began to blare. “Because you want answers. You’ll never know why he left if you don’t give him a chance to explain.”
“I don’t want to hear some lie he’s concocted,” Rylee replied. “He got what he wanted, and then he left.”
“Hmm … if that’s the case,” Camryn said, pausing to drink her martini, “why would he call you again?”
Rylee frowned. She hadn’t figured out the answer to that question, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to. The truth of the matter was, like Caleb had said, they’d shared a fling, nothing more. “I don’t know, and I don’t care.”
“Bullshit!” Camryn eyed her friend suspiciously. “I think you care more than you’re willing to acknowledge. Otherwise you wouldn’t be carrying this big weight on your shoulders and letting it affect you this way.”
“I’m over Amar Bishop,” Rylee stated, putting on a brave front. Deep down, she knew it to be a lie. She was far from over Amar, and that scared her even more, because if he could cause this much damage to her equilibrium after just a few days, she could only imagine the damage if she let him further into her heart.
Chapter 12
“Hello, hello,” Chynna called out as she walked into the stables of the Golden Oaks Ranch. It was a day after Camryn’s birthday, and Chynna had just returned from her tour.
“Chynna?” Rylee poked her head out of a stall to see her sister-in-law sashaying down the hall in her latest designer duds. Rylee had missed Chynna while she was away. She’d come to look forward to having her around. Even at three months pregnant, Chynna looked just as chic as she pleased while Rylee was dressed in her usual fare of jeans and a plaid shirt.
“Girlfriend.” Chynna hugged her when she approached. “So good to see you. How was the Derby? Did you love the fashion and the hats?”
Rylee smiled. “It was good. How was your concert tour?”
Chynna frowned as she searched Rylee’s face, finding dark circles: signs of stress and lack of sleep. “Just good? What’s going on? I expected way more than that, especially with Camryn going to the Derby too. Dish!”
“There’s nothing to dish,” Rylee said, returning to her task of checking one of the horse’s vitals that had been ill.
Chynna leaned against the stall door. “C’mon, Rylee, it’s me. I can tell when something’s wrong with you. And something’s definitely off. What gives?”
“There’s nothing wr
ong, Chynna. I’ve made my peace with what happened, and there’s no use in rehashing it.” Rylee came out of the stall and began putting away her supplies.
“What could have happened to you in a week’s time for this kind of reaction?” Chynna folded her arms across her chest. “There’s only one thing that I know of that can cause this: a man. So who broke your heart?”
“Amar Bishop,” Rylee said. “And I want nothing to do with him.”
“Is there no way I change your mind?” a masculine voice asked from the door of the stables.
Amar stood staring at Rylee and another woman who he figured could only be her sister-in-law. She was dressed in flashy attire and stilettos. He’d read the dossier on Rylee and that her brother Noah had married America’s sweetheart after she’d caused a big uproar by switching places with her twin, Kenya.
He’d come straight to the ranch from the airport after nearly twenty-four hours of flying. After he’d showered on the plane, he’d sent Sharif back to Palo Alto, California, to look after Bishop Enterprises, and rented a four-wheel drive to get himself out to Golden Oaks. Something had told him that Rylee wouldn’t appreciate all the pomp and circumstance if he arrived in a limo, so he’d decided to come solo in the hopes that he could get through to her on his own. He’d parked outside the family estate and followed his instincts that Rylee would be in her favorite spot. He’d been right.
“Well?” he asked when both women were silent. “Should I turn around and go?”
Chynna glanced at Rylee’s angry face. “That would be a good idea.”
“Stay or go, I really don’t care,” Rylee said. She turned away to continue putting away her supplies.
Chynna looked at Amar’s resolute expression and began moving toward the stable exit. “I’m thinking you two need some time alone, so I’m just going back up to the main house and unpack. I’ll see you later.”
Rylee didn’t look up at Chynna as she left.
Amar walked toward Rylee, whose back was to him. He noticed her stiffen as she heard his footsteps. “Rylee, can we talk?”
She didn’t answer and continued to ignore him. Finally, he couldn’t take the deafening silence and reached across and grabbed her arm.
“Let me go!” Rylee’s eyes blazed fury, and Amar quickly released her.
“I’m sorry.” Amar held up his hands in defense. He hadn’t known how Rylee was going to react to his sudden appearance, but he hadn’t expected the absolute anger that emanated from her every pore.
“What exactly are you sorry for?” Rylee said, turning to face him.
Amar swallowed. The speech he’d recited in his head half a dozen times over the last week when he’d been in Dubai suddenly faded from his memory. He’d never been one at a loss for words, but when faced with such hostility from Rylee, he felt completely out of his element. Perhaps coming here had been a bad move. What if he couldn’t get through to her?
“What do you want, Amar? I don’t have all day,” Rylee said, folding her arms across her chest.
He would just have to plow ahead and pray that he reached her. “I’m sorry for how I left you in Louisville,” he began, “but it was unavoidable.”
“Unavoidable?” Rylee’s voice rose. “Are you kidding me? Please tell me you didn’t fly all this way to tell me it was unavoidable, because if so, you could have saved your fuel and your breath.” She began walking toward the door.
Amar caught up to her before she could exit. “It’s the truth,” Amar explained. “My father had a heart attack.”
At his blunt admission, Rylee turned around to face him. “What did you say?”
“My father suffered a heart attack in Nasir. He was air-lifted to Dubai to see a specialist. As soon as my brother Tariq called me, I left for the airport, where he had a plane fueled and waiting for me.”
Rylee stared up at him with her big brown eyes, and all Amar wanted to do was take her in his arms and lose himself in her, but she was looking at him with cautious disbelief. “Are you telling me the truth? Or is this a lie you’ve concocted to try and win me over.”
“It’s the truth,” Amar answered. “You can look it up online. We did our best to try and cover it up for fear it would reach one of Nasir’s enemies, but as soon as we left the hospital, someone leaked the story.”
Shock registered on Rylee’s face as she interpreted this new piece of information. “So he’s okay?”
“Yes.” Amar nodded. “He’s been released and is back home safely in Nasir.”
“And why aren’t you there?”
“Because,” Amar said, staring at her, “I needed to make things right between us. I couldn’t continue to allow you to believe I’d discarded you after the nights we’d shared together, without a thought or care.”
“Then why did you?” Rylee asked with a shaky voice. “I understand about your father, but you told me you’d never been close to your family. Can’t you see how that must have looked?”
Amar nodded. “Yes, I do. It probably looked like I was lying and using my family as an excuse to break away from you when that couldn’t be further from the truth.”
“What’s the truth now?”
Amar smiled as he reached for her arm and pulled her into his own. “The truth is this.” He lowered his head to capture her lips. It was an open-mouthed kiss that sought her tongue and a desperate need to remember just how good Rylee tasted. She responded with a deep, throaty groan and wrapped her arms around his neck.
He deepened the kiss, tasting and exploring her recesses. After waiting so long for another hit of Rylee, he didn’t rush the kiss. He savored it. Savored her. He kissed her with all the pent-up longing he’d been harboring for the last week in Dubai when he’d dreamed of having her in his arms, in his bed again. His hands cupped her bottom, and she tilted her head, giving him yet another angle to explore her mouth. His lips didn’t stop there. They seared a path down to her neck and her shoulders, and she whimpered a soft moan, causing him to return to her mouth for yet another taste.
She splayed her hands across his back and buttocks, and soon he felt his erection swelling near her middle. His lower half ground against her, eager to be closer to her while his hands moved all over her body. When they found her breasts, he flicked one thumb pad across her nipple until he felt it pucker underneath his touch.
“Uh, excuse me.” A cough sounded behind them, and they immediately broke the kiss. Rylee spun in front of Amar, giving him a few moments to pull himself together.
“Noah!” he heard her say. “What are you doing here?”
“Well, uh, I, uh, heard Chynna was down here.” Noah fumbled for words. He was clearly not used to seeing his little sister make out with a man.
“Sh-she’s back out at the house,” Rylee replied, coming toward Noah and trying to usher him out.
“Okay, guess I’ll go find her,” Noah said. “But before I do, I don’t believe I’ve made your friend’s acquaintance.”
Amar had no time to react as a fist came toward him and sent him flying to the floor on his butt, landing him in a pile of hay. He looked up at Rylee’s brother, who towered over him in a cowboy hat.
“Noah! What the hell has gotten into you?” Rylee yelled and rushed to Amar’s side. “Are you okay, Amar?”
Amar nodded and held his jaw as he tried to right himself.
“Is this the guy who had you so upset for the last week?” Noah asked, pointing at Amar. “If so, he should know you have brothers, and we have no problem kicking his ass up and down this ranch if he ever hurts you again. You got that?” He glared down at Amar.
“Oh, yes, I got that,” Amar said as he rose to his feet with a little help from Rylee.
“That was really unnecessary, Noah,” Rylee said as she took Amar’s face in her hands and surveyed the damage.
“It’s okay,” Amar said as he brushed the stra
w from his jeans and long-sleeve shirt. “He was defending your honor, and I respect that.”
“You just ensure you respect my sister.” Noah pointed a finger in Amar’s face. “Otherwise, you’ll have me and my brother, Caleb, to deal with.”
Amar nodded. And several seconds later, Noah left the stables, leaving him and Rylee alone. Amar moved his jaw back and forth several times. It wasn’t broken, and that was a good thing. But his ego was bruised. He hadn’t seen that coming.
“Your brother has one serious left hook.”
“You should be thankful it was Noah,” Rylee replied, “and not my younger brother, Caleb. He’s a wild card and may have beaten you to a bloody pulp for making his big sis cry.”
Amar peered into her brown eyes. “Did I make you cry?” he asked. “If I did, I’m sorry. I would never want to hurt you in any way.” He searched her face for some sign that she believed him, and when he saw her blinking back tears as she nodded, he knew that he’d made the right decision in flying back home to the States. There was no place he would rather be than right here with the woman who was quickly stealing his heart.
Rylee was so taken aback having Amar in her world. He’d caught her completely off guard by coming to Golden Oaks Ranch and explaining why he’d left so suddenly from Louisville after the nights they’d spent lying in each other’s arms. And now here he was in her home, in her room, telling her all the things she wanted to hear, that he hadn’t meant to leave and that he wanted to stay with her. But what does it all mean?
She was wondering that as she stood in her bedroom getting ready for dinner with her family and Amar. They hadn’t yet had time to figure out what they meant to each other before he would be forced to face the family juggernaut. He’d arrived so late in the afternoon that they’d barely had time to talk before she’d been called by radio to the field to check on an ailing steer.
She’d thought she was going alone, but Amar had refused to leave her side. He’d accompanied her on horseback. She supposed he wanted to show her that he wasn’t going anywhere and that he would stay until they’d sorted things out. After she’d tended to the steer, they’d returned in just enough time to wash up before dinner at six.
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